


Unearthed

by bakecity



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mass Effect AU, Slow Burn, a little bit anyways
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-12-01 19:34:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20876033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bakecity/pseuds/bakecity
Summary: Alliance Military archaeologist Dib Membrane gets more than he bargained for when he unearths the sole survivor of the now-ancient Irken Empire.Together, hopefully they can stand against the same threat that wiped Zim's people from the Galaxy.It's the crossover that nobody asked for; Invader Zim/Mass Effect!





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> greetings everyone! i've been bouncing around a mass effect au for like,, a week or two now, and also this is just. free serotonin at this point so here we go!!  
i plan on this having at least seven chapters, and they're all outlined so far, with at least four written so: progress!

It was a quiet night for this specific Alliance Research outpost. The crew was resting, catching a few precious hours of sleep before they started the next day of work.   
Everyone was resting, save for one Dib Membrane. 

Dib sat in his room, eyes narrowed as he pored over a wall of unreadable text, trying to make something of it. It was nearly 4am; he'd already resigned himself to another sleepless night. 

He'd been at this outpost for nearly two months now, and he was, more or less, enjoying his time here. All things considered, he was grateful to his father and to the Alliance for this opportunity. With the advances his father had made for not only humanity, but for Alliance Space, Dib had a free pass to pretty much go wherever he wanted.   
His chosen assignment was the Valhallan Threshold, studying the ruins there as an archaeologist, much to his father's dismay. His father had wanted him to work alongside him on the Citadel, working with the Council Scientists on their myriad research projects. He couldn't seem to understand why Dib just wasn't interested in science.  
"You're my son, after all," he had said once, "Science runs in your veins!"

Either way, it had never quite been Dib's thing. Since he was small, he'd been fascinated by the unknown, spending his youth hunting for ghosts and other supernatural entities. When he was old enough, he fixed his focus on the many secrets this new and expansive galaxy could hold.   
Joining the Alliance wasn't exactly what he'd planned for himself, but again, he was grateful for the opportunity. For someone obsessed with the unknown, this was the jackpot.

Speaking of the unknown, this current puzzle had him a little stumped. He pursed his lips, eyes focused on the screen, trying in vain to make sense of the text in front of him.   
The team had been studying the remnants of the Irken Empire, as they'd called themselves, for the two months that they'd been stationed here. From what they could tell, the Empire had once spanned across a decent chunk of the galaxy, rivaling the size of the near galactic-scale empire that the Protheans had made. The Irkens, on the other hand, seemed much, much older than the Protheans, and what was left of their Empire were almost less than ruins. Their current outpost had the most cohesive ruins out of any of them, and Dib couldn't be happier to be apart of it. Maybe, if this outpost provided some decent findings, they would name the report after him. Or a colony, maybe. Either would be just fine. 

He finally tore his eyes from the text, now littered with notes and scribbles for the linguistics team, and sighed, pushing up his glasses to rub his face. As much as he liked his job, it was exhausting sometimes.   
He took a drink of his coffee, wrinkling his nose; it was cold. Wonderful.  
Rising from the desk with a sigh, he made his way towards the kitchen, pouring a fresh cup, before returning to his desk. He tapped his fingers on the desk, lips pursed as he pondered. 

"Ah, who cares. It's late, I've done all my work today," He reasoned to exactly no one. 

He minimized the Irken text file (he still wasn't sure if it was text, but that was neither here nor there), and pulled up his compiled research about the Reapers.   
He flipped through all of the notes and pictures, adding annotations and notes, before zooming in on one specific picture. It was from a year ago, the Reaper called Sovereign landed on top of the Citadel. It had been one of the rare occasions when his family was back on Earth. He still wished he'd been able to see it with his own eyes.   
He'd been researching the Reapers since Shepard had destroyed the one on the Citadel that day. He was sure he was one of the only people that really believed her; the Reapers were real, and they were coming.   
He didn't share his thoughts on them with anyone anymore. Especially not since Shepard had died.   
He frowned, letting his hands fall from the screen. Thinking about her made him sad. Would he end up that way? Doing what he could for a thankless galaxy, giving his life to uncover the secrets of its past (and maybe even its future), just to die?   
He blinked, jarred from the rabbit hole his thoughts were going down by the sound of a shrill alarm. 5am; time to get to work.   
_______________

The biggest downside of this outpost was how warm it could get. Dib frowned, wiping away the sheen of sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand. Gross.   
He continued to dig, eyebrows knit close together as he hit something in the dirt.   
Pulling up his omnitool, he scanned the area underneath; it was a structure. An actual, complete structure.   
His eyes blew wide, a grin spreading across his eyes as he shot up, cupping his hands around his mouth. 

"I FOUND SOMETHING!" 

He knelt down once more, still digging, his grin still plastered to his face as he heard footsteps approach. Voices around him murmered curiously, wondering what it had been that Dib dug up.   
He drove his shovel down into the ground, yelping as the ground capsized, opening up a huge, gaping hole. 

"Holy shit," he breathed, staring into the expanse. This was it.   
_______________

The small team repelled into the cavern, each member of the small team clad in protective gear, masks over their face, just to be on the safe side. 

Dib felt like he was going to burst from excitement. This was IT! Who knew what they'd just unearthed. It could be a surprisingly well-preserved, sprawling city-scape, or a somehow still bustling metropolis buried and hidden under the surface of this planet for eons, or-

He blinked, holding his omnitool up to scan the surroundings.   
What they'd actually stumbled into was completely different. Rows upon rows of cryo pods lined the chamber. There were so many; hundreds, maybe even thousands. Most looked non-functional; some were cracked, the skeletal remains of their hosts lying inside, some were overgrown with the local flora, and some were just buried in the dirt. 

"Team, gather as many samples as you can! This is an incredible lead!" 

He walked further into the chamber, recording the encounter through his omnitool.   
"We've just stumbled upon what I believe may have been... A large cryo chamber?" He continued walking through the chamber, his footsteps echoing off the walls. "I wonder what they were preparing for, maybe there was a war, or-" He cut off, thinking about the Reapers. It was probably too much a stretch, but he wasn't about to put the thought away.   
"Or maybe some kind of disaster."

He kept walking, stopping to inspect each pod as he went, before his eyes fell on a pod tucked away against the far wall. He squinted his eyes, trying to make out the pod as he approached; the pod was _intact_. He walked towards it, eyes wide as he placed his palms on it. 

"Oh my god." 

He yelped, taking a step back as the panels of lights on the pod lit up, the same Irken glyphs he'd been studying the night before appearing on the sides.

"Oh my god!" 

The inside of the pod was lit now, illuminating a small, green body inside. Dib sucked in a breath, hurriedly typing into his omnitool.

"OH MY GOD!" 

He grinned, hands shaking as he looked at the pod, scanning it with the device on his wrist, nearly squealing at the result: the alien was alive. 

"GUYS, YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT I FOUND!"


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter starts off with a (kind of) flashback, and there's a teensy bit of RaPr in there, but mostly our resident screamy alien wakes up and has a time of it

The end had arrived. 

The skies were dark, a new reaper descending from the atmosphere every couple of minutes. The streets were already being overrun with ground troops; mangled and misshapen aliens and even Irkens that had been harvested. 

Tallest Purple ran as fast as his legs could take him, trailing closely behind Tallest Red, moving as quickly as they could towards the Sanctuary.  
Soldiers around them urged them forward, continuing to cover for them as they made their escape. Purple squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the screams coming up from the area around them. 

They'd told themselves that this was the only way. They'd save the best of their people, the true Elites, so that once the carnage was over they could pick back up where they left off. It wouldn't be the end of the Irken Empire, just a brief intermission. Other parts of the galaxy had already fallen. Even their home planet, Irk, had been lost to the invasion. This was the only way.  
Purple fought to catch his breath as he followed Red inside, hand clutching his chest. Irk, this was a lot. 

"The Tallest are safe, seal the doors!"

The doors started to slide closed, the sounds of gunfire and carnage amplifying through the chamber. It made Purple feel sick. 

"WAAAAIT!"

They both blinked, looking down as a little, very short Irken slid through the closing doors. He smiled up at them, magenta eyes crinkling at the corners, straightening up the best he could and offering them a salute. 

"I came as fast as I could, my Tallest."

"Zim?!"

Red stepped forward, a scowl on his face. Purple groaned, slapping his palm over his face. Of course, of the few Irkens that were going to survive, it was going to be their worst, most destructive soldier. How the little runt managed to constantly survive was beyond him. If he'd cared at all, he may have found it almost admirable. 

"What are you doing here?!" Red hissed, moving to step in front of Purple. 

Zim smiled, shifting uncomfortably; it was apparent this was not the reception he'd been expecting. 

"I-I was trying to get in before the doors closed, I want to be able to be apart of the rebuilding! I, your finest Invader-"

Red let out a shout, eyebrows drawing together, making Zim flinch.

"You moron, you-"

They all looked towards the door, which had just been sealed, the floor trembling beneath their feet. Red and Purple locked eyes, and they both knew. It was the end, after all.  
When they looked away, Zim was gone. They caught sight of him sealing himself into a pod, his arms crossed over his chest.

Purple groaned. "I really hoped he'd die out there." 

Red sighed, pinching the space between his eyes. "Same." 

He looked at his violet other half, taking his hand. His expression turned sad, the anger that had been there a few moments ago washed away. 

"We're out of time." 

Purple sighed, squeezing his hand. 

"I know." He nodded. 

Red pulled him towards their own pods, and he helped Purple step inside. 

"We'll figure everything out when we wake up."

Purple nodded. "When we wake up."

Purple looked over at him, so many words that he wanted to say on the tip of his tongue. They ultimately remained unsaid. He offered a smile in their place.

"There better be some good snacks when we wake up."

Red couldn't help but laugh. "There will be. I'll make sure of it." 

They smiled at each other again, before lowering themselves into their pods, closing their eyes as the pods sealed shut.  
___________________

Hundreds of years passed. Then thousands. Then a hundred thousand. 

The war outside raged on. Then the world stilled. New life sprung up. Then, the cycle began anew. 

The structure around them crumbled, breaking down around what was left of the once mighty Irken Empire. Slowly, the pods started to break down. The inhabitants all perished, the 'survivors' dwindling each passing year. 

At the end of it all, there was one pod left.  
One singular pod remained, 100,000 years later. The pod hosted a small, short Irken, his arms crossed over his chest, his expression unusually peaceful. 

The last of his kind.  
___________________

Zim blinked his eyes slowly. Everything was too bright, and it smelled... weird. Wrong. He blinked slowly, gazing up at the sky. The atmosphere was still a soft pink, just like it had been before the war. Before the war.  
He blinked again, trying to focus on the source of the unintelligible noise he heard.  
His eyes focused on an alien in front of him. His head was... huge. His eyes were ginormous, and he was spewing words out of his awful mouth. The words sounded nothing like Irken; the sounds were too long, too clumsy, too close together. It was awful. 

He scowled, teeth bared as he drew the spiderlegs from his PAK. This would teach this ugly alien not to mess with an Irken Elite. 

He lunged.  
___________________

Dib laughed, looking at the tiny green alien as they started to wake up. Their eyes opened, revealing pools of magenta. He thought they were pretty. 

"Oh wow, god I don't even know if you can understand me, but-"

The alien blinked slowly, looking up at the sky, the clouds reflected in those big eyes. 

"Wow, I am so glad to see that you're alive!" He laughed again. "I have so many questions to ask you, and-"

He blinked, watching the alien bare their teeth, before being knocked back as they lunged. 

Dib would never admit it, but he shrieked. The mechanical arms that had sprang from the aliens back pinned him down, and their tiny hands gripped at his throat. 

_'I discover an alien, and then they kill me,_' He thought, trying to push the alien off of himself. 

The pressure on his throat was finally relieved as the alien slumped on top of him, and he groaned. 

"To whoever shot the tranq dart, thank you." 

He sat up, holding the alien in his arms, looking down at them. Their face was relaxed as it had been just a few minutes ago, and Dib noticed more details on their face. Their skin was smooth, with the faintest freckles spread under their eyes and across their cheekbones; this alien was lovely. 

"Someone help me get this guy to the medbay, please." 

He stood to his feet, helping another of his crew lift the alien up, carrying them across the digsite and to the medbay.  
_________________

Zim blinked his eyes, groaning as the fluorescents blinded him. Ugh, these lights were too bright, and-

"Oh! You're awake." 

His head whipped up, eyes blown wide open as he tried to find the source of the voice. 

Dib sat across from him, offering a small smile and waving a hand. 

"Hey."

Zim narrowed his eyes, a scowl spreading across his face.

"How can you speak Irken?"

Dib chuckled. "I'm not, I'm speaking English. I can only assume you're speaking Irken." He motioned to his own back.  
"I made some changes to your little backpack thing? I found a translation processor and updated it with some languages you may need." He offered an awkward smile, pushing up his glasses. "I, uh, hope poking around your little pack thing was okay, I figured it was better than you waking up to being vivisected." He offered that awkward smile with an equally awkward laugh. 

Zim's mouth curled into a disgusted sneer.

"How _dare_ you tamper with an Invader's PAK?! Who do you think you are-"

"Invader?" 

Zim blinked watching the weird, fleshy alien pull up the orange holographics of his... whatever that was, typing furiously. 

"You called yourself an Invader, what does that entail exactly?"

"Shouldn't that be obvious? Ugh, of course you wouldn't recognize a Mighty Irken Invader, what with your primative-"

"No, that's not it, it's just," Dib let out a small laugh. "You're... An Irken. They've been gone for... thousands of years." 

Zim froze. Thousands...? Where were the rest of his people? Where were his Tallest? 

"Where are the others."

Dib blinked. "Others?"

He scowled, baring his sharp teeth once more, trying to rise to his feet. 

"I said, WHERE ARE THE OTHERS." 

Dib blinked again, shaking his head.  
"You're... you're it. You're the only one that's left." He shook his head. "I'm... I'm sorry."

He clamped his hands over his ears as Zim let out a deafening, anguished scream.  
_______________  
Zim groaned, blinking his eyes slowly once more. How many more times was he going to be put under today? He ground his teeth as he tried to move. His whole body felt heavy, gross. 

"Okay, take two."

Zim huffed, glaring at the alien across from him.  
"Ugh, why are you still here, you big-headed beast thing."

The alien frowned. "My head isn't big."

He sat on an office chair, wheeling himself over to Zim. 

"I'm gonna assume you're still too woozy to move, so I'm not in any real danger." He frowned. "Please don't do that... screaming or lunging at me thing again. It's a real pain in the ass, and it's making it a lot harder on me to not vivisect you." 

Zim bared his teeth again, still glaring at the weird alien.  
"Fine, fine. I'd prefer to keep my organs inside me, anyways." He let out a huff, resting his head back against the exam table he'd been laid out on. 

"I'm Dib, by the way."

Zim frowned, glancing at him. 

"Okay, Dib-beast."

"No, just... Just Dib."

"Yes, yes, Dib-thing," he waved a hand dismissively, not bothering to look at the man again. "What are you, anyways? Some kind of primitive stink-beast, or-"

"I'm a human." He frowned. "Were all Irkens as rude as you are?" 

Zim let out a mirthless chuckle. "Depends." He still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that he was all that was left. It... It was a lot to process. Especially when he could feel the human staring at him.  
He glanced at the human again, letting out a huff. "You may call me Zim." 

"Okay, Zim." He smiled. "Now I have something to work with."


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zim is a menace, and Dib was right. They decide that in the face of inevitable destruction, trying to do something is better than sitting back and letting it happen. Also, Zim says 'dookie' way more than is necessary.

It could be argued that Dib had _too_ much to work with. He ground his teeth, trying to follow Zim around the lab, trying to keep him from touching everything he could get his hands on. 

"Dude I need you to _not_ put your mits on everything. For the love of god-"

Zim hissed. "You do not own me! Zim does as he pleases!" 

He started digging through files, and Dib groaned. He'd been awake for almost two whole days now; it was more energy than it was worth to keep this stupid green thing from touching his stuff. 

"Whatever," he sank into his office chair, pushing his glasses up to his forehead as he rubbed his face. "Knock yourself out, go nuts, I guess." 

Zim smirked, digging through Dib's computer, pulling up various holo screens.  
"I intend to, Dib-smelly." 

He continued to rifle through the various files, eventually pulling up the Irken text file, snorting as he read it. 

"Oh, you're all so stupid."

Dib looked up at him, frowning. "And you're rude, what's your point?"

He pointed at all of the notes scribbled over the text, smirking.  
"You are all so worried about trying to decipher this specifically, trying to find out what mysteries it holds," He giggled, much to Dib's surprise, "You all think this is some important document, and it's," He giggled again, the giggle growing into a full-on cackle.

"It's a snack order." 

Dib nearly fell out of his chair, watching the alien wipe a tear from his eye. 

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"I am dead serious, stink-beast." He chuckled again, minimizing the report. "It looks like it was sent out by the Tallest, so I mean, you all were at least a little right that it was something mildly important." 

He blinked, pulling up his omnitool, just setting it to record the conversation.  
"Your Tallest?" 

Zim nodded. "Our leaders."

"Are they just... you know-"

"Tall? Yes. Very tall." He turned his attention to flip through more of Dib's files. "Only the tallest of us are fit to lead our collective, hence, The Almighty Tallest." 

Dib nodded, before a thought crossed his mind. "Doesn't that make you the Tallest now? Kind of by default?"

Zim paused, but Dib didn't miss how his posture changed; he perked up, standing up a little straighter, his antennae perking. He was pleased. 

"Hm.. I hadn't considered that. How interesting." 

The two fell back into silence, Dib pausing the recording on his omnitool, and Zim continuing to rummage through the many files and reports.  
The silence was broken by a sharp gasp, Dib raising his head to see what the alien was looking at.  
All of his research on the Reapers were on display. Every report, every article, every theory he'd written out, every photograph he could get his hands on. 

"How long ago," Zim zoomed in on the picture of Sovereign, his antennae pressed flat against his head. "How long ago was this taken." It wasn't said like a question, it was a demand. 

"About a year ago." He stood up, crossing the room. "What do you know?"

Zim shook his head, staring up at the photograph. 

"That's... This is..." He shook his head once more, and Dib finally realized; Zim was afraid. "That is the end, Dib-thing."  
_______________

Dib had been right. This entire time, he'd been right. The Reapers were real, they were coming, and they were going to destroy the entire galaxy. 

Being right felt really, really bad. 

He'd been working with Zim for the last hour or two, Zim walking him through the process of what exactly was in store for their galaxy and correcting some of the more wild theories that Dib had strung together. 

"You know," Dib finally spoke, breaking the silence that had been enveloping them for a few minutes. "No one is going to believe us." 

"But we have _evidence_." Zim scowled. "You have a first-hand account of someone who watched their entire _galaxy_ be decimated."

"The Council has seen one, Zim. There was one on the Citadel barely a year ago, and it's still not enough." 

Zim fell into silence, shaking his head. The scowl was still glued to his face. 

"This is dookie. I mean, Dib-stink this is absolute _dookie_, do you understand?" He growled, pressing his claws to his temples.  
"I manage to survive, to outlive my _entire species_, just so I can die in the exact same way. You understand that that is absolute _dookie_, yes?"

"I understand. Also please stop saying dookie." 

Dib chewed on his lip, thinking. What was there to do in a situation like this? The Alliance wouldn't offer him any resources. No one would offer him any help in trying to prepare the galaxy. It was a lot to take on all on his own. 

"You know how this is going to go down."

"Yes. I do."

"You could pretty much guess where it's going to start."

"If I _had_ to guess, yes."

Dib nodded. It wasn't a lot, but it was at least something. The universe finally did him a solid and let him be right; he hoped it wasn't too much to ask for him to be able to help, too.  
"I have a plan. It's... It's not going to, y'know, save everyone. It may not even save anyone," he shrugged. "But we have to try. We have to do something."

"We?" Zim looked at him, an antenna perked like he had an eyebrow raised. 

"I, uh, I know it's a lot to ask," Dib rubbed the back of his head, his face heating up a little bit. He hadn't even considered asking Zim, he'd just _assumed_ that he'd go with him. Like an idiot. "But if anyone can help, who better than the person who's already survived it once?" 

Zim considered this, before placing his hands on his hips, nodding. 

"Fine. I will help you." He smirked. "I will help save your primitive, goopy species from inevitable doom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a shorter chapter than i anticipated, since about half of chapter three ended up being absorbed by chapter two (oops)  
also i'll try to one day quit ending chapters with dialogue lines, but today is not that day.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a year. Dib and Zim have forged a friendship as they've continued their work. They take a break to visit Earth.  
It's the calm before the storm!

If Dib had to choose one word to describe the past year, it would be exhausting.

True to his word, Zim had followed him across the galaxy to follow through with his plan.  
Together, they bolstered colonies on the outskirts of the Galaxy. They improved their defenses, built shelters, made sure they had all of the resources they could possibly need, should things go sideways. The people that lived in these colonies at least deserved to have a fighting chance.  
It had been easy to pass this off to the Alliance as a simple gesture of good-will, a grand humanitarian gesture. They'd been willing to help fund Dib's project, and Dib was grateful; trying to save the galaxy, even a small part, was not cheap work. 

In the last year, they'd been to almost countless colonies, executing their plans and following the schematics, and then scooting towards the next one. They never stayed in one colony longer than a week; they didn't need to.  
Zim had helped to streamline Dib's design plans, and he'd have been lying if he'd said he wasn't impressed. The advancements the Irken Empire had made on technology during their time was no joke. He'd built new tools, new machines, all with the intention of making this as quick and efficient as possible.  
It impressed Dib quite a lot, Zim smirking and replying with "I _am_ rather impressive, aren't I?" when he told him just that. 

Despite all of the long work days, the sleepless nights, the arguments over which food was whose on the ship, Dib was happy Zim was there.  
Getting to know him over the past year had been... challenging, to say the least. Zim would usually only talk on Zim's terms, which were always times that were least convenient for Dib. They pressed each other's buttons, got in each other's hair (or, antennae? Dib wasn't sure the expression went both ways), and they argued almost relentlessly.  
He wasn't sure when that had changed, exactly. They just slipped into a comfortable routine. Dib found them chatting during breakfast, looking over schematics together, even debating over which movie to watch during their evenings off. Dib would always grab extra bags of the sweets Zim liked when he was at the market, because they were the most effective cure for a cranky attitude. Zim would always make coffee for Dib in the late hours of the night, not because he was asked, but because he knew Dib liked to have it when he worked. They'd get into deep and sometimes heavy conversations from the lounge in the ship, watching the stars fly by. They took comfort in each other's presence. 

They were friends, and that was something Dib wouldn't trade for anything.  
_______________

Dib stretched his arms over his head, letting out a yawn as he walked to the bridge of their ship, his eyes tired. It was 5am, and he still hadn't slept. 

This did all but surprise the Irken, who had been looking at their galaxy map up until the human arrived. He smiled, an antenna flicking curiously. 

"You look terrible, Dib-thing."

Dib couldn't help but chuckle. "I feel terrible, if that's any consolation."

He came to stand next to his partner, looking at the map.  
"Where are we?"

Zim zoomed in on the map, pointing. "We're on approach to the Citadel. It's supplies week."  
He swung his feet, his short legs dangling off the ground.  
"Zim is glad you're here, I had something to run by you."

Dib raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"What if we stopped on Earth? Just for a few days." 

Zim held his hands up as Dib went to protest. "Just a few days. Nothing bad will happen if we take just a few days off. In case you have forgotten, we haven't taken a day off in over six months." He wiggled in his seat. "And, seeing as you are the only one of us with a home planet to visit, I felt it only right that we do just that." 

Dib sighed, crossing his arms as he looked at him. Zim's eyes were somehow bigger, and he clasped his hands together. He knew at this point that Dib was easier to bend if he looked at him like that; Dib would deny it.  
Plus, Zim was right. They'd been working tirelessly on their plan for... a long time now. He really couldn't remember their last day off. 

"You're sure things will be fine if we take a couple days off?"

"I said a _few_ days. And yes, of course I'm sure, I am _Zim_ after all." He pointed to the map once again. "Anyways, we're several days ahead of schedule, so really, I think we're doing just fine." __

_ _He smiled now, placing a hand on Dib's arm. "We have worked very hard. We have done a lot of good work." _ _

_ _Dib smiled back, nodding. "I know." He chuckled. "It'll be good to see Gaz again, too."_ _

_ _"Ah yes, the Dib-sister." He nodded. "I am very much looking forward to meeting her." _ _

_ _"I think you'll like her."_ _

_ _Dib chuckled, before taking a moment to zoom in on the Sol System, setting their course.  
________________ _

_ _Earth was different from what Zim had expected. It was bright, warm, and teeming with life. A little crowded, too, if he was being honest. Also loud. Also smelly. _ _

_ _Dib's hometown was a bustling metropolis, shuttles zooming back and forth between the towering skyscrapers, with Membrane Labs standing tall in the center of the city. Zim soaked in the sights of this place, antennae bobbing curiously, trying to keep up with Dib as they walked to catch a shuttle. _ _

_ _The trip to the house had been relatively quick, Zim keeping his face almost pressed against the shuttle window. He glared at Dib every time he chuckled. _ _

_ _They walked together up the walk to the Membrane estate, Zim craning his neck to get a good look. The house was huge.  
He smiled up at Dib when the human turned to look at him. _ _

_ _"You ready?"_ _

_ _Zim nodded. "I am." He looked up at the house once more. "So this is where the Dib-thing grew up." _ _

_ _Dib chuckled. "This is the place."_ _

_ _"Fascinating."  
________________ _

_ _Gaz had arrived not too long after they'd settled in, and she'd almost tackled her brother in a hug. The human woman smirked, pushing back to look up at her brother. _ _

_ _"So how's "Operation Impending Doom" been going?" _ _

_ _He couldn't help but chuckle at hearing the name that Zim had penned. "It's been going really well! We're actually heading to the Citadel after we're done here to get more supplies and move on to the next system." _ _

_ _Gaz let out a low whistle, finally releasing him from her hold. "I do not envy you at all."_ _

_ _Dib snorted. "I didn't think you would." He smiled. "How's biotic training been going?"_ _

_ _Gaz grinned, clenching her fists, both of them glowing purple. "Oh it's going _so_ fucking well." She smirked. "I'm stronger than anyone in the group."_ _

_ _"Meaner too, probably."_ _

_ _Dib snickered, trying and failing to deflect the punch she threw at him. _ _

_ _"Also, where's the alien? You know, the one you haven't been able to shut up about every single time we talk?" _ _

_ _"He's in there, watching tv I think." He frowned, his face heating up a little. "And I don't _always_ talk about Zim." _ _

_ _Gaz snorted. "Sure, keep telling yourself that."  
________________ _

_ _Dib had been right about Gaz and Zim getting along. They had a handful of things in common, but their biggest commonality was that they loved to embarrass Dib. _ _

_ _"Did he always snore, even when he was a smeet?"_ _

_ _"Oh my god, yeah. It was incredibly obnoxious."_ _

_ _"_Was_? It IS obnoxious!"_ _

_ _Dib wanted to crawl under something and die. _ _

_ _He let them continue talking, taking the time to meander up the stairs and into his old room.  
It was almost completely how he'd left it; the same posters were on the walls, as were all of the findings from his childhood of being a paranormal investigator. It felt like a lifetime ago. He never would've imagined he'd be where he was now; friends with an alien that he unearthed. _ _

_ _He walked over to the window, pushing the round pane open, before crawling up onto the roof. _ _

_ _He laid on his back, taking in the look of the stars above. He would never get tired of this view, no matter how long he stayed in space.  
He closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. He felt grounded for the first time in quite a while. _ _

_ _He blinked slowly, hearing the clicking sound of something mechanical. He looked up, seeing Zim, PAK legs extended as he poked his head up to see him._ _

_ _"Zim would like to join you."_ _

_ _He sat up, patting the roof next to him. "Come on up." _ _

_ _They sat together in silence for a few minutes, both of them taking in the starry expanse overhead. _ _

_ _"Your sister is nice." _ _

_ _Dib snorted. "I'm glad. She was kind of a nightmare growing up."_ _

_ _"Well, Dib-smelly, Zim is sure you were no, eh, walk in the park either, as they say."_ _

_ _"You may have a point." _ _

_ _They fell back into silence, and Zim couldn't help but look over at Dib. He looked at their hands, laying next to each other. When had they gotten that close?_ _

_ _"She loves you a great deal, it would seem." _ _

_ _"I love her, too." _ _

_ _Zim looked at Dib again, watching him intently. He looked relaxed, content. It was nice.  
He gently brushed his pinky against his hand, his antennae shooting up as Dib's hand wrapped around his own small one. _ _

_ _Dib chuckled, giving his hand a squeeze, tearing his gaze from the sky to look at the alien next to him. "Thanks for convincing me to come home."_ _

_ _Zim nodded, trying to remember how to breathe. Dib's stupid smile was... distracting. "Always." _ _

_ _They stayed like that for most of the night, hand-in-hand, soaking up the clear night sky. Nothing could ruin this for them; everything was good. Everything was calm. _ _

_ _Even if it was just for a night._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did u see what i did there,, operation impending doom,, i'll be here all week thank u  
also in my head, i see gaz as an adept class in ME, meaning she's crazy powerful and has, essentially, space magic(tm)  
also hehehe they held hands, we're getting there lads


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is, how you say, kind of a bummer.   
Dib tries to process some new feelings.   
The end arrives.   
Zim deals with some regret and survivor's guilt.

All Dib could think about as he tried to fall asleep was the feeling of Zim's hand clasped around his own. He mentally kicked himself, rolling over and settling into the couch, trying to make himself more comfortable. He'd ceded his own bed to Zim, since he was technically their guest and all.   
He tried to blame the fact that he couldn't sleep on the uncomfortable couch he'd been stuck with, but he knew that wasn't the truth. His thoughts repeatedly ended up wandering to the same place. 

He groaned, sitting up. He could see the morning light starting to creep in through the windows. There was no point in trying to rest now. 

He stood to his feet, shuffling into the kitchen and putting a pot of coffee on. He rested against the counter, staring at the wall, still lost in thought. 

He was ripped from his thoughts as he felt a tremor pass through the house, the entire structure shaking. He walked out of the kitchen, locking eyes with Gaz, who was standing at the top of the stairs. 

"What... was that." 

Dib's body reacted before he had time to think. He ran past his sister, barreling into his own room. He moved past Zim, who looked at him with the same anxious expression Gaz had. 

"Dib-thing, what is going on-"

"Hang on." 

He pushed his window open just like he'd done the night before, and climbed up onto the roof. 

He saw it then.   
The Reaper descended onto the city, the tremor that followed knocking Dib off of his feet. 

"Oh my god." 

He stared up at the Reaper, fear overriding any other instincts he may have had. 

This was it. It was over. 

He barely heard someone calling his name. He watched in horror as the beam from the huge machine tore through the city, toppling everything in its path, the ground shaking violently beneath them. His gut twisted as he heard the screams starting to rise up from the city below. 

"DIB-THING WE HAVE TO _GO_." 

He yelped, feeling the metal PAK legs ensnare him, pulling him back towards the window. 

"We have to _go_." 

He shook his head, eyes still glued to the scene ahead of him, watching in horror as one, two more Reapers descended upon the city. Upon his home. 

Zim growled, finally able to get his hands on the human. 

"For the love of Irk I am not losing you now, you stubborn, filthy worm thing, we _must go_!" 

Zim's words finally registered, and Dib nodded, not able to say anything as he scrambled inside. 

"Gaz is waiting for us. We have to go." 

"Zim, what about-"

"There is no time." 

Zim's hand clasped around Dib's, squeezing tight. Zim looked up at him, and Dib saw something he'd never seen before in those eyes; pure fear. 

"I am sorry, but we are out of time. We have to go, and we have to go now."   
_______________

Dib watched from the window of his cabin as they ascended through the Earth's atmosphere. They'd tried to get as many stragglers as they could, working to transport them to the Citadel. They had a supply order waiting there, after all. 

He watched as more and more of the machines descended upon the Earth's surface. He thought back to the day he'd first met Zim. He remembered the fear in his voice when he'd pulled up the picture of Sovereign. 

_"That is the end, Dib-thing."_  
_______________

The weeks that followed nearly flew by. They'd parted ways with Gaz at the Citadel. She was insistent on going to join the fight; it was all she could do.   
Even Dib's father had joined the team dedicated to preparing the Crucible, the weapon that would supposedly end the war once and for all. 

Once again, being right felt incredibly bad. 

The two of them worked tirelessly on the Citadel, working with C-Sec to help situate all of the refugees that had come in from all over the galaxy. They had used the supplies intended for the next colony on the people here; what else were they supposed to do? "Operation Impending Doom" had run its course. It was time to focus on the present.   
_______________

During a brief moment of quiet, they'd taken a day trip to the Presidium. They both needed at least a small break. Besides, being there made Dib feel at ease. The simulated sunlight and the lakes down below made him feel almost at home. 

"Dib-thing." 

He blinked, looking down at his partner. His eyes were focused on the scene below.

"I am... sorry." 

He furrowed his brow, looking confused. "What? Why would you need to be sorry?"

Zim hesitantly met his eyes, antennae pressed flat against his head. 

"I insisted that we take a break." 

"No? Zim, it was my idea to come to the Presidium-"

Zim hissed. "No, you worm." He sighed. "I insisted that we take a break on that... that day." 

Dib blinked, his stomach dropping. Oh. 

"That's not your fault, Zim. You have to know that wasn't your fault." 

Zim frowned, crossing his arms. He went back to refusing to meet Dib's eyes. 

"We shouldn't have been on Earth. Zim should have _known_ better." He frowned, almost hugging himself at this point. His next sentence came out in almost a whisper. 

"We still had so much work to do." 

_Oh._

Dib frowned, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. 

"Hey. Come here." 

He felt Zim stiffen up as he wrapped his arms around him, pulling him in for a tight hug. He let out a small sigh as he felt the Irken relax, his arms hesitantly wrapping around him in return. 

"You can't blame yourself." He sighed. "We did a lot of good work. We gave a lot of people a fighting chance when there wasn't one. We even saved people on Earth. And we've been helping people here, too." 

He gave him a gentle squeeze. "We're just two people. We've done all we can." 

Zim nodded, squeezing his eyes shut, clutching onto Dib like his life depended on it. 

"I know." He sighed. "Thank you, Dib-thing." 

"Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the only real Sad chapter i have planned,, so i'm glad that's out of the way!! also sorry i'm back on my 'ending chapters with dialogue lines' bullshit  
thanks for sticking w me so far!! only a small handful of chapters left to go!


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final fight for Earth is almost here.   
Feelings are put out in the open.   
We're almost at the end!

Two weeks had passed since that day at the Presidium. 

Dib tried his hardest to focus on the letter he'd been typing out, his hands shaking as they ghosted over the keys.   
He'd been writing a letter to his sister, just reminding her that no matter what happened, he loved her. Just reminding her that he was so proud of her, reminding her that she was strong. She'd be okay. 

The tears welling in his eyes spilled over, and he pulled his glasses off, setting them down on the desk.

After burning through so much already borrowed time, the galaxy was ready. The Crucible had been completed, everyone was moving into place. The fleets were all arriving around the Citadel.   
The two of them were headed towards the relay that would catapult them towards Earth. Towards the final fight. Dib had learned a lot over the last couple of weeks. He'd learned how to use his omnitool as a weapon, plus he'd learned how to handle nearly all of the weapons that the Alliance had to offer. He remembered Zim absolutely loving the weapon training, vaguely remembering his disappointment at not being able to try his hand at hijacking the Atlas Mech. 

Despite all of the training and all of the preparation, Dib was not ready. Nothing in his life had been able to prepare him for what was about to come. None of the countless days spent trying to do what he could to _save_ people could have prepared him for this. 

He blinked, wiping his eyes as he heard the door open. 

"Dib-thing."

There was, however, one thing that made him feel like he wasn't completely hopeless.   
He smiled at the nickname. There wasn't any malice behind it anymore. There hadn't been for a long time now. 

"Hey, Zim." 

Zim crossed the room to stand next to him, concern pooling up in the big, magenta eyes. 

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." He sighed, pushing his glasses back up onto his face. "I'm just.. scared." 

He blinked, feeling a small, green hand take his. 

"I am, too." He let out a shaky breath, antennae twitching slightly. He was nervous. 

Dib looked at his friend. They'd been through so much over this past year and a half. He squeezed his hand, tracing his thumb over his knuckles. 

"It's going to be okay." He smiled. "We will be okay." 

Zim scoffed, tilting his chin up. "Well of course we will be," he smirked. "You have the might of the galaxy's last living Irken on your side." 

Dib laughed. "You know what, that's true." He squeezed his hand. "Thanks, Zim."

His smirk softened into a smile, nodding. "Always." 

The pair sat in silence for a while. The hum of the space flowing around them was near deafening.   
Dib felt his heart beat in his throat. While he didn't know when exactly they'd become friends, he could pinpoint the exact moment that he felt something more. It was the night before everything started to fall apart, the last peaceful night on that rooftop.   
It would be so easy to tell him, to lay everything out on the table, and what was stopping him? What was stopping him from telling him that he was hopelessly in love with him? That Zim was the one thing that gave him any hope for the future? They could easily die in this next day. 

It was now or never. 

"Zim, I..."

He looked at him, amber eyes boring into those deep magenta pools. 

"Can I kiss you?" His voice cracked in the middle of his request, and he could've died right there, no Reaper attack required. 

One of Zim's antennae bounced, a gesture that would've been the equivalent of a human raising an eyebrow. 

"Is that one of your filthy human mating ritual thingies?"

Dib groaned. "I regret trying to explain any of that to you."

Zim laughed, throwing his head back. He let go of Dib's hand, cupping his face with his hands. Dib swallowed hard; he didn't think he'd ever be used to being so close to him. He could see all of the freckles on his face. It was cute.

"You are always so easily offended, Dib-thing." 

He smirked, stroking across the soft, flushed skin of the human's cheeks with his thumbs.

"But Zim can oblige your request," he snickered. "Since it's the end of the world, or whatever." 

He leaned in, Dib leaning up to meet them as their lips pressed together.

It was everything that Dib thought it might be. Zim's lips were so soft, and his hands felt so nice on his face. It felt like gravity. 

He pulled back, taking a small breath and locking eyes with the former Invader, feeling his thumbs continue to stroke his cheeks. 

"Zim," He pressed his lips against his for one more soft, chaste kiss. "No matter what happens, I-I just... I need you to know something."

He nodded. "And? What is it?"

Dib couldn't help but smile, trying to keep the tears from welling up in his eyes once more. 

"I'm so, so glad I found you, Zim." He breathed out a small laugh, the tears rolling down his cheeks. He forced the words on the tip of his tongue out; he couldn't leave anything unsaid. 

"I love you." 

Zim looked like he'd had the breath knocked out of him, his antennae flattening against his head, and Dib was concerned for a split second.  
A deep purring sound rumbled in his partner's chest, and he pressed their foreheads together. 

"Dib." 

He blinked; there was nothing tacked onto the end. No light-hearted insults, no anything. Just Dib.   
He would survive the apocalypse just to hear that again. 

"Zim... feels the same." He nuzzled against the human's forehead again. "I am glad I get to face the end of everything with you. I'd choose no one else." 

Dib's heart felt like it was going to explode. He leaned in for another kiss, a notification chiming through the chamber right as their lips were about to touch; they'd reached the Sol System.  
He cleared his throat, pulling back, his face still flushed. 

"Looks like we made it." 

Zim blinked slowly, nodding as he pulled back as well. "So it would seem."

He smirked, wiping a stray tear from the human's face. 

"When we make it back here after everything is over, because we _will_ make it," he gently pinched his cheek, earning a snicker, "Zim will be expecting another kiss." 

Dib grinned at him. "I promise I'll do more than just kiss you, space boy." 

Zim smirked, stealing another small kiss, before walking towards the door, going to suit up for the battle ahead. 

"I will hold you to that, Dib-thing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i couldn't sleep tonight, so y'all get another chapter. woohoo!! this is technically the second chapter i wrote out for this fic. i'm a fickle creature, i wanted to skip straight to the mushy stuff.   
i've also been listening to 'i was lost without you' from the me3 soundtrack and crying about it, in case you wanted to know how my night was going
> 
> also they finally kissed. good job, nerds.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the final battle. Lots of fights up ahead.

They landed on the Earth's surface a couple of hours later. This Earth was not the one that it had been a few weeks ago. Buildings were in ruins, and the streets were filled with rubble. If he hadn't known where they were, Dib wouldn't have been able to tell that this was supposed to be London.  
They crowded with dozens of other Alliance recruits into the small base, all of them quiet as they were briefed on the mission to come. All they were supposed to do was keep the way clear for Commander Shepard and her team as they made their way to the beam. Simple enough.  
If someone had asked Dib a few months ago if he would ever put himself in a live-combat situation, he'd have laughed. He was no soldier.  
This, however, was bigger than him. Like he'd said to Zim at the beginning of everything, he had to at least try.  
He looked down at Zim, his large eyes wide as he absorbed the information. He at least seemed ready; the doubt he'd expressed earlier seemed almost gone. The soldier role seemed to come much easier to him. Dib had to remind himself that being a soldier was what Zim had been raised for; it came naturally. 

The group of recruits split off after the briefing, the unlikely pair standing against the far wall of the small base.  
Zim looked up at him, flashing a small grin. He laced his fingers through Dib's, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. 

"Are you ready?"

"Not at all." He let out a breathy laugh. No point in lying. "But we're here."

Zim hummed, nodding in response. "So we are." 

They stood together, surveying the room. Everyone seemed nervous, and who could blame them? 

Zim squeezed his hand once more.  
"I need you to be careful, Dib-thing. You have such a fragile, goopy body." 

"I'm well aware. You constantly remind me how gross and goopy I am."

"All I am saying," he continued, "Is that I need you to be careful and stay alive." He smirked. "Do not forget that you made a promise to Zim. Dying is unacceptable." 

Dib smiled, finally squeezing his hand in return. He knew that underneath the goofy lines and smug demeanor, Zim was just as scared as he was.  
He leaned down, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. 

"I'll be careful." 

"You had better be." 

_______________

At this point, Dib felt almost certain that he was going to die here.  
The waves of enemies approaching them had not even begun to cease. They just kept coming, wave after wave. He felt like he'd been doing this for hours already; he couldn't tell how long it'd really been.  
He blinked, stopping for a moment to refill the clip on his rifle, looking hurriedly between the gun and the fresh wave of husks. 

"Zim, I could use a hand please!" 

With almost no hesitation, PAK legs whipped past him, skewering a couple of the quickly approaching husks. He breathed out a sigh of relief as he finally reloaded his weapon, calling over his shoulder.  
"Thank you!" 

Zim barely heard him. He'd taken a pause from shooting to melee the groundtroops with his newly-upgraded omnitool, cackling as he dismantled enemy after enemy.  
He finally turned to look at his human counterpart, wiping a spatter of dark monster blood off of his visor. 

"Yes, yes, Zim is incredible, now let me work!" 

Dib once again had to remind himself that Zim was born for this, however weird he may be about it. 

They fell back into the rhythm they'd started to work up; Zim would cover for Dib when he reloaded, and vice versa. They made an efficient and lethal duo, something that Zim would proudly continue to talk about for the rest of their lives. 

Dib groaned, seeing a fresh new group of enemies start to charge their way in. How were they supposed to keep this up? His arms ached, his legs felt like jelly. He guessed that about 75% of his body was just a bruise at this point. 

The lapse in focus left him wide open. 

He yelped as a Husk toppled him over, and he fought to keep the shrieking monster from sinking its teeth and claws into him. It was hard to believe that these things used to be human.  
He blinked, watching the orange holographic light of an omniblade pierce through its skull, PAK legs ensaring it and slamming it on the ground away from him.  
He looked up at his partner, eyes going wide; Zim looked furious. 

"That will teach you to not touch what is _Zim's_." 

Dib felt a shiver run down his back. He hadn't heard anything quite that intense from him before. It was... interesting.  
He blinked once more, taking Zim's outstretched hand that was offered to him, getting up to his feet. 

"I told you to be careful."

"I'm trying."

Zim frowned, glancing at him between rounds of gunfire. 

"Try harder." 

They fell back into rhythm once more, picking off enemies until the street finally cleared out.  
Dib breathed a sigh of relief, taking a knee. Sweet relief.  
Zim placed a hand on his shoulder, swinging his rifle onto his back.  
They both just breathed for a minute. If you asked Dib, he'd say they'd earned it.  
He smiled up at him, leaning himself against Zim's small frame, letting his eyes shut for a brief moment. 

"Dib-thing, we have company." 

He groaned, rising to his feet once more. The groundtroops were back in full force, starting to swarm down the street.  
He looked down the sight of his rifle, his stomach twisting into a knot; it felt harder to feel like this was going to end well.

"Zim, If we don't make it out of this-"

"Don't you _dare_ finish that sentence," Zim growled, staring down the sight of his own rifle. "We are not going to die here." 

Dib pressed his lips into a line, trying to focus on keeping the waves back. He hoped Zim was right. 

_______________

No one missed the green wave of light pass over the Earth's surface, the earth shaking violently underfoot.  
One by one, the Reapers stopped their assault on the Earth, starting to ascend back into the heavens. The endless onslaught of the harvested monsters finally dwindled to a stop.

The Crucible had worked. The fight was over. They won. 

Dib looked up at the sky, his eyes wide. 

"Is it over...?" He blinked slowly, almost in disbelief. "Did we..?"

He blinked, almost falling over as he was whipped around.  
Zim had raised himself up on his PAK legs, suddenly eye-level with the human, before yanking off Dib's helmet and throwing it to the ground, pulling the visor off of his face as well. 

"Zim, what're you-" 

He was cut off as Zim's lips smashed into his, the Irken's hands holding onto his face.  
He pulled back, grinning, before peppering Dib's face with kisses, not able to help as he started laughing. 

"We won! Dib, we _won_!" He laughed again, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "I told you we would make it!!"

Dib couldn't help but laugh too, wrapping his arms around his waist. 

"We won!" 

_______________

They sat back inside the dilapidated base that they'd been in a few hours earlier, but the atmosphere was much different this time.  
Soldiers and civilians milled around, laughing and chatting with each other. People shared drinks with each other, cheers rising up from different parts of the street as people celebrated. They'd seen Gaz wander off with her team of fellow biotics, and she'd grinned at them, holding up her drink like she was giving a toast. 

Dib couldn't help but smile. He probably hadn't been able to stop smiling since the fighting stopped, and he was okay with that. 

"Here." 

He blinked, smiling as he took a bottle from Zim, nodding. 

"Thank you." 

Zim acknowledged his thanks with a kiss to the top of his head, settling in next to him with his own bottle in hand.  
Dib had never really enjoyed beer much, but he was more than willing to suck it up. He'd earned this, god damn it.  
He took a deep swig, wrinkling his nose. 

"I don't think you're going to like this stuff very much." 

Zim scoffed. "Please, I'm sure my superior Irken tastebuds will find your Earth beer perfectly fine."  
He took a swig, and immediately spat it out. 

Dib couldn't help but laugh, earning a scowl from the other. 

"You dare laugh at Zim!" 

"I'm sorry, but I told you!" 

Zim gently smacked him, giving Dib a pointed glare as he sat the bottle down on the ground, before leaning against him.  
Dib smiled, wrapping an arm around the Irken, pulling him closer into him.  
They sat like that for a while, soaking in the sounds of laughter and revelry. It was a really, really good feeling. 

"Question for you, space boy." 

Zim raised an antenna. "I'm listening." 

"Now that the world is saved and we're effectively not going to die," He paused to look down at him, not able to help it as he smirked. "Is the spark gone?" 

Zim pursed his lips, eyes narrowed as he scanned the human's face. He wrinkled his face up with an expression of mock disgust. 

"Hm. Yes, I think it is. Zim now finds you repulsive, Dib-filth." 

He couldn't help but laugh, pulling Zim in closer. 

"Well that's too bad, I think." He kissed the top of his head, feeling Zim laugh in response. 

"Oh please. You know that's not the truth." Zim smirked. "You are the one who dug me up. You're stuck with Zim whether you like it or not." 

Dib simled, kissing the top of his head once more. "It's a good thing I like it then, huh?" 

Zim leaned up, stealing a kiss from his human, Dib returning the kiss in earnest. 

"Zim is still looking forward to you keeping your promise, you know." 

Dib couldn't help but laugh; Zim really was eager for him to keep his word. He couldn't really say he blamed him.  
"Don't be so impatient." He stole another kiss, smiling softly at his green counterpart. "We've got all the time in the world now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i, the monarch of fluff, hereby announce that sad endings are for suckers  
(im just kidding, i like angst as much as the next guy, but i'm a sucker for a happy ending) 
> 
> this was always going to have a happy ending! they won!  
i referenced the synthesis ending from mass effect 3 for the ending here. imho it feels more like the true ending for the game, which is something i'll get into in the next chapter. 
> 
> again, thank you all for going on this little adventure with me! i've had such a wonderful time writing this fic and i've really enjoyed being able to share it w/ all of you!
> 
> only one chapter left to go! we're almost to the end!!


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ending explained, and a brief epilogue.

The blast from the Crucible changed everything.

It had been described as a Synthesis, merging all organic and synthetic life together.  
The Mass Relays had been destroyed in the blast, being used as the catalyst to carry the blast through the galaxy, but that was okay. With the advancements in technology they'd now be able to make, this was just a minor setback. The galaxy had faced bigger challenges, after all.  
The rebuilding effort was going wonderfully. Even the Reapers were contributing, much to everyone's slight horror and surprise, offering up all of the knowledge from cycles past to help catapult their growth. 

5 years in, and everything was still going well. Major cities had been rebuilt even better than they'd been before, and the people of the galaxy were prospering. 

Everything was good. The galaxy finally knew peace. 

They cycle had ended for good.  
_______________

Dib breathed a small sigh, laying flat against the rooftop. It'd been a long day.  
He'd spent his day working on a water system for their current colony, something that Zim had adamantly refused to help with, insisting it made his skin burn.  
They'd joined the rebuilding effort after the war ended, bouncing from colony to colony, using the old schematics and blueprints from their earlier "Operation Impending Doom" work. 

It felt so much like their old routine that it was almost nice. 

This time around, they didn't need to go through a colony per week; they had plenty of time to spend now. They'd spend a few months in each place, taking the time to get to know the people that lived there, helping acclimate them to the changes they'd made, before moving on to another place. Even though it still felt good to know they were making a difference, it was still exhausting work.  
But things were good, and he was enjoying a moment of peace under the night sky. 

He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he closed his eyes, taking in the soft sounds of the colony around him.  
He blinked slowly, hearing the telltale sound of PAK legs working their way up the small structure. He kept his eyes shut, trying to keep a smile from tugging at his lips.  
He waited until the quiet footsteps almost reached him, before sitting up, trapping the small, green alien in a hug. 

"UNHAND ZIM-"

"Oh my god, you _have_ to shut up, people are sleeping out here!" 

He grinned, still holding on tight, pressing kisses up the side of his captive's face. 

"Also no, I don't think I will unhand you." 

Zim groaned, wiggling in his grasp. 

"UGH, enough! Your face feels all _weird_, how long has it been since you've shaved?!" 

Dib made it a point to rub his cheek against his, earning another annoyed groan. 

"I bring you snacks, and this is how you repay me?!" 

He laughed, finally relenting and loosening his hold on Zim, who was now pouting up at him. 

"Now Zim does not want to share." 

Dib raised an eyebrow, looking at the bags of snacks in his hands. 

"Aren't those mine anyways?" 

Zim let out a 'hmph,' tilting his head away.  
"That is irrelevant." He glanced back at him, a smirk crossing his face. "What is that human saying? 'What's mine is yours' or whatever?" He snickered. "You married me, foolish human, so all of your snacks are Zim's. It's the law." 

Dib let out a fake, over-dramatic gasp, trying to look shocked. "So the truth comes out: you only married me for the snacks." 

"Of course." 

They moved closer to each other, both popping open a bag of the snacks that Zim had brought up, taking a moment to just enjoy the view.  
This specific colony was lovely at this time of night. The sky was a deep purple, with stars littered throughout. The colony was quiet, as it usually was at this time of night. It was peaceful. 

"Dib." 

The human blinked, looking down at his husband. 

"Hm?"

"Have you thought about what comes next?"

He blinked. If he'd been honest, he hadn't put much thought into the future at all. After the Reapers, having the whole future ahead felt... overwhelming. 

"I haven't really." It was the truth. The only things he'd really had on his list at the beginning of the war were 1) surviving said war, and 2) kissing Zim. It was safe to say he'd pulled both of those off pretty successfully. "Have you?"

Zim shrugged, leaning against him, taking a moment to munch on his snack. 

"A little." He shrugged, turning his big, magenta eyes up towards his husband once more. 

"Zim is fine with the work we are doing now. It feels... nice. But I am not sure what comes next." He fell quiet again, setting his snack bag down to grab hold of Dib's free hand, lacing their fingers together. 

"I will be fine wherever we end up, and I will be fine doing whatever we decide to do," he shrugged again, "So long as I am with you."

Dib felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest, just like it had when they'd confessed their feelings as the world was about to end. He truly couldn't believe how lucky he'd been to find him. 

"You know what," he paused, pressing a kiss on his forehead. "Me too." 

He looked up at the sky again, smiling softly. He took in the star-filled expanse overhead and breathed out a contented sigh. 

They had successfully earned their happy ending. 

There was a whole galaxy at their fingertips that they could explore, and they had so much time to do it. The possibilities were endless, and they could do whatever they wanted now. 

And they'd do it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and now we're done! 
> 
> again, thank you so much for joining me on this adventure. i really had such a great time writing this, and also this makes my first-ever completed fic! wow!! 
> 
> i took a little bit to explain the synthesis ending for anyone who may not be familiar with mass effect as a whole (the entire beginning is pretty much just all in game lore lmao)  
and ofc i made the boys space husbands bc... yeah dude  
hopefully the ending isn't too cheesy, but either way, i'm a huge sucker for a sweet, sappy ending. 
> 
> but again! thank you so much for reading!! you're all so wonderful!!


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